MAUKU

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 7, Issue 351, 8 February 1918, Page 1

MAUKU

WAIUKU BRANCH LINE

The construction of the railway to this districLhas resulted in the recent sale of quite a number of farms, prices being in most cases satisfactory, and ranging up to over £f>o per acre. It is, however, a matter of considerable annoyance to tho settlers that there is apparently no immediate prospect of ttie Railway Department taking over the completed piece of line between latumahoe and Mauku. Immediately beyond the Mauku station runs the unbridged Mauku stream and the Public Works Department cannot build the bridge without making use of a portion of the station yard, and the Bail way 'Department will not take the station over until they can have the whole yard to themselves. The yard is a spacious one and there is ample room for both Departments, and a few more, to play in it without getting in one another's way, but there appears to be no likelihood of their agreeing. Public Works cannot get out of the way till the bridge is built, and Railways will not come in till Public Works go out, so the Mauku people are not likely to enjoy the use of their station for a long time to come, especially as there is no immediate prospect of the bridge being built. Public Works has known for three years it cannot get steel girders and wants to build in concrete piers and hardwood stringers. Railways says it won't have wood, and will have steel. ( H course the bridge will ultimately bo built of wood, but if there had beeu a little more give and take between these two Departments the erecl.on might have bepn begun eight months ago when the rail head reached the site, and Public Works might by this time have got across it and be pursuing its break-neck career of more than a mile a year towards Glenbrook. "Interested" also writes to us upon the delay in completing the Waiuku railway. After commenting upon tho enormous cost of the work already done he says:—''l offer this suggestion to tho PublicWorks Department tree, gratis and for nothing. Let them make a caicful computation of the amount it is estimated they will spend in reaching Waiuku, and also of the time they will take to do the work, and when they have worked out tho sum let them offer some contractor one hali the money and one half the time to do the job. Then they will the merit of having saved the tuxpayers' money, of giving the Rai way Department a chance of making the line pay interest, and of enabling some of the people of tue d:s trict to use it, before they aio of old